Four 2:04 Men Headline Tokyo Marathon Field

Last fall, the Tokyo Marathon was added to the World Marathon Majors; it's the only one of the six races in the series not held in the U.S. or Europe. The race, scheduled for February 24, seems to have taken the new honorific seriously in recruiting its elite field, as it includes four men with sub-2:05 bests and three women with sub-2:22 PRs, Japan Running News reports.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

The fastest man in the field is also one of the least experienced. Kenyan Dennis Kimetto (seen above) ran 2:04:16 in his marathon debut at Berlin in September. In Berlin, Kimetto appeared to be capable of running faster--he stayed ever so slightly behind training partner Geoffrey Mutai in the stretch run, and seemed to allow Mutai to win. Mutai's Berlin win ensured that he won last year's World Marathon Majors title and its winner-takes-all $500,000 prize; the speculation was that Kimetto let Mutai win with the understanding that Mutai would then pay Kimetto from the World Marathon Majors jackpot more than Kimetto would have won by placing first in Berlin.

Kimetto's race in Tokyo is likely to lack such intrigue. Two of his main competitors, Dino Sefir of Ethiopia and Jonathan Maiyo of Kenya, also set their sub-2:05 PRs last year. Both so far lack a big win to go with their fast times, and will hope to change that in Tokyo. Kenyan James Kwambai is an especially interesting entrant. He ran his 2:04:27 PR in Rotterdam in 2009, back when 2:04s didn't seem like a near-weekly occurrence. After that race, he floundered for a couple of years, but returned to world-class form last November, when he won the Seoul Marathon in 2:05:50.

The woman with the fastest PR in the field is German Irina Mikitenko, but it would be surprising if she won. She ran her best, 2:19:19, more than four years ago when she won Berlin. Mikitenko, 40, ran 2:24:53 at London last spring, so she's a threat to break the world masters mark, 2:25:43, set by Russian Ludmila Petrova at New York City in 2008.

The more likely contenders for the women's win in Tokyo are Ethiopians Bezunesh Bekele and Aberu Kebede. Both have PRs of 2:20:30, and both set those marks in 2012. Kebede won Berlin last September, and our policy is always to go with runners who have shown they know how to win races in addition to running fast.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Runner's World participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.